The Ox and the Irish

Kung Hei Fat Choi - its still the first day of CNY here in the UK, and just in time for the start of the Year of the Ox the excellent calendar

from Ard-Chonsalacht na hÉireann Consulate General of Ireland arrived in the post. It celebrates the legacy of twelve of the many Irish men and women who have, over 180 years, contributed to the development and success of Hong Kong.

With specially commissioned photographs by Rose Conway, the stories are told by Mark O'Neill, who has been working with Consul General David Costello on a book which tells more of this legacy.

The little vignettes in the calendar give a flavour of the diversity of stories, and I'm looking forward to publication later this year. Eleven of those featured in the calendar are men - but in November we'll read about Sr Mary Aquinas and the ground-breaking work she did in combatting tuberculosis in Hong Kong.

I was privileged to be asked to contribute a few biographies to this book of some of the Newmarket policemen, but I'm pleased to say we also included Margaret Nolan, the long-serving matron at Victoria Gaol.

Btw, the picture of the boy on - what may be an ox, or perhaps more likely is a water-buffalo - comes from a cache of 1930s photographs I recently discovered. The photographer - or perhaps the purchaser of the photo - inscribed it "Ready for Derby Day or "Gee up, cowboy!"